Hook and fleece roofing system with rolled up adhesive release layer and method of application

ABSTRACT

A hook and loop system for attaching a roofing membrane into the top of a building insulation board including a roofing membrane with a fleece backing having a release sheet on the fleece backing. The release sheet is manually removed in the field to attach the fleece backing directly onto a layer of hooks that have been pre-attached onto the top of the insulation board. The release layer may be somewhat sticky, yet not adhere too tightly to the fleece layer such that its removal does not damage the fleece backing. The release layer may also be pre-rolled together with the fleece backed roofing membrane and shipped together as a unit into the field.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional patentapplication 62/626,407 of same title, filed Feb. 5, 2018, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to systems for quickly and easilyattaching fleece backed roofing membranes onto roofing surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Roofing membranes are applied on top of roof insulation boards toprovide a layer of waterproofing and to protect the roof insulationboards or roof deck surface/substrate. Typically, such roofing membranesare made of EPDM, TPO, PVC or other waterproofing materials. Lately,such roofing membranes have been coated or laminated with fleecebackings as a way to provide toughness, durability, strength andmechanical stiffness to the roofing membrane. In addition, fleece backroofing membranes have the advantage of withstanding extreme weatherconditions (such as wind uplift and hail). An example of such a fleecebacked roofing material is the FleeceBACK® roofing membrane product linemanufactured by Carlisle Construction Materials LLC of Carlisle, Pa.

Fleece backed roofing membranes have typically been installed in thefield as follows. A rolled up fleece backed membrane is positioned ontop of the building's insulation boards. Next, the roll of material isunrolled, and the fleece backed membrane is either folded back and thenglued or hot-welded into position. Specifically, the installers coverthe building's insulation boards or roof deck surface/substrate with alayer of adhesive and then unroll the fleece backed roofing membraneinto the adhesive (thereby securing the roofing membrane into place).After this adhesive placement, the top surface of the roofing membranecan then be pushed down by the installers, for example, by pushingmechanical rollers back and forth across the top of the roofingmembrane. An advantage of adhering (i.e.: gluing) the fleece backedroofing membranes onto the roof insulation boards is that it is a quietand generally odorless process.

Unfortunately, sending installers up onto the roof with buckets or tanksof adhesives can be messy. It would instead be desired to provide acleaner system of roofing membrane installation that completely avoidsinstallers having to spread out a messy layer of adhesive on top of theinsulation boards. In fact, it would also be desirable to simply avoidhaving to require installers to bring cans or tanks of adhesives up ontothe roof in the first place during the installation process. Basically,it would be desirable to find a new, fast, clean and easy to use systemof attaching the roofing membranes directly onto the top of theinsulation boards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present system provides an apparatus and a method for firmly andeasily attaching a roofing membrane (such as an EPDM, TPO, PVC or otherwaterproofing membrane) on top of a building's insulation boards or roofdeck/substrate using a hook and loop fastening system (for example,Velcro®). In various embodiments, the loop (i.e.: the “fleece”) layer isattached to the underside of the roofing membrane and the Velcro® hooklayer is attached onto the top of the insulation board. Optionally,however, the hook and loop layers can be reversed, and hook and loopsystems other than Velcro® can be substituted, all keeping within thescope of the present invention.

In various aspects, the hook layer (attached onto the insulation board)and the loop layer (attached under the roofing membrane) are simplypressure fit onto one another such that the roofing membrane is quickly,cleanly and easily attached on top of the insulation board. Theadvantage of this approach is that it avoids the need for installersspreading any adhesives or glue onto the top of the insulation board andthen sticking the roofing membrane on top of that. Simply put, avoidinga separate adhesive layer makes the job considerably less “messy”.Another advantage of avoiding adhesives is that should a roofingmembrane inadvertently be placed in an incorrect location, it is easierto remove it (i.e.: peel it off of the insulation boards), re-positionedit and then re-attach it.

The present system encompasses two preferred approaches for sticking thehook and loop layers together, as follows.

In a first preferred approach, a quick release layer is rolled uptogether with the fleece backed roofing membrane. In this approach, thequick release layer is positioned adjacent to the fleece backing suchthat the quick release layer can be manually pulled away to expose thefleece backed layer. Then, the fleece backed layer can simply be applied(i.e.: pushed down) onto the hook layer that has been pre-fastened ontothe top of the insulation board/substrate. This is carried out as theroofing membrane is unrolled. The quick release layer may optionally begently adhered to the roofing membrane such that it stays in positionyet can be pulled away from the fleece backing (i.e.: the loop layer) inthe field without damaging the fleece layer. It is to be understood,therefore, that the present rolled up quick release layer may, or maynot, be “sticky”, all keeping within the scope of the present invention.

In a second preferred approach, the release layer is “sticky” (i.e.:gently adhered to the underside of the fleece backing), but need not berolled up together with the roofing membrane prior to its delivery tothe jobsite, again all keeping within the scope of the presentinvention. In this second approach, the sticky release layer adhered tothe underside of the fleece backing may optionally be only partiallyadhered. For example, only a portion of the total surface area of therelease layer may have adhesive applied thereto. This portion of adheredsurface may preferably be anywhere from 10% to 100% of the total surfacearea. Optionally as well, the adhesive may also be applied to therelease layer in a multitude of adhesion patterns (including but notlimited to: alternating strips, diamond or checkerboard patterns, oreven random adhesion patterns, all keeping within the scope of thepresent invention).

As such, the present system optionally provides a rolled up roofingmember assembly, comprising: a roofing membrane; a fleece layer attachedto the underside of the roofing membrane; and a release layer positionedagainst the underside of the fleece layer, wherein the roofing membrane,fleece layer and release layer are all rolled up together as a unit.

Alternatively, the present system optionally provides a hook and fleeceroofing system, comprising: (a) a roof member assembly, comprising: aroofing membrane, a fleece layer attached to the underside of theroofing membrane, and a release layer adhesively attached to theunderside of the fleece layer; and (b) an insulation assembly,comprising: an insulation board or a cover board, and a hook layerattached to the top side of the insulation board or cover board. In thisaspect, the release layer is adhered to the fleece layer with apreferred range of stickiness such that the release layer can bemanually pulled off of the fleece layer in the field without damagingthe fleece layer.

In additional embodiments, the release layer may be applied to thefleece with perforations therein to make for ease of removal, or withoverlapping edge portions which can be easily grasped, again making forease of removal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation view of the various layers of thepresent roofing system.

FIGS. 2A to 2D are sequential illustrations of a rolled up unit of thepresent system being applied on top of roofing insulation boards in thefield, as follows.

FIG. 2A shows a roll of the present roofing material with release layeras delivered into the field for installation on top of a building roof.

FIG. 2B shows a portion of the roll of roofing material being unrolledonto the roof surface.

FIG. 2C shows the roll of roofing material fully unrolled onto the roofsurface.

FIG. 2D shows half of the roofing material being flipped over tomanually remove the quick release layer.

FIG. 2E is a sectional elevation view corresponding to FIG. 2D.

FIG. 3 illustrates a release layer having overlapping edges.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional elevation view of the various layers ofthe present roofing system 10 as follows.

First, an insulation assembly 20 is provided on top of the building roofInsulation assembly 20 comprises a bottom board, preferably aninsulation board 22 with a hook 24 layer attached thereon. A roof memberassembly 40 is also provided. Roof member assembly 40 preferablycomprises: a roofing membrane 42, a fleece layer 44 attached to theunderside of roofing membrane 42, and a release layer 46 preferablyadhesively attached to the underside of fleece layer 44.

The release layer 46 prevents contact between the fleece layer 44 (onthe underside of the roofing membrane 42) and the hook layer 24 (on thetop of the insulation board 22) before the roofing membrane 42 has beenproperly positioned on the roof. This allows easy sliding andpositioning of the roll on top of the insulation board. Release layer 46thereby makes the installation much more “application friendly”particularly in windy conditions and when placement around roofpenetrations where cutting and fitting is required.

In optional preferred aspects, hook layer 24 and fleece layer 44 can bestandard hook and loop (e.g.: Velcro®) layers of fastening. It is to beunderstood, however, that other hook and loop fastening systems can beused as well.

In various preferred aspects, release layer 46 is somewhat sticky suchthat it can be manually pulled off of fleece layer 44 in the fieldwithout damaging the fleece layer. Specifically, the release layer 46 iscoated with a very thin layer of adhesive that adheres adequately to thefleece in cold installation temperatures without adhering too much inhigh installation temperatures. As a result, release layer 46 does notdistort or separate the fleece fibers from the fleece layer, yet stillhas enough adhesion to stay with the fleece until release layer 46 ismanually separated in the field.

Optionally, release layer 46 is only partially adhered to the undersideof fleece layer 44. For example, only a portion of the total surfacearea of release layer 46 may have adhesive applied thereto. This portionof adhered surface may preferably be anywhere from 10% to 100% of thetotal surface area. In various alternate aspects, the adhesive may beapplied to release layer 46 in a multitude of different adhesionpatterns. Such patterns can include (but are not limited to) alternatingadhered and non-adhered strips or sections, diamond or checkerboardpatterns of adhesive application, or even random adhesion patterns(e.g.: splattering), all keeping within the scope of the presentinvention). The advantage of these approaches are that less adhesivewill be used.

Preferably, release layer 46 is a plastic film with an adhesive coating,and the adhesive is made out of acrylic copolymer. Preferable 180 degreepeel values for release layer 46 can be on the order of between 0.02 and0.05 lbf/in. The present inventors have experimentally determined thatshould the peel value drop below 0.02 lbf/in, the release layer tends tofall off the fleece prematurely. Conversely, for peel values above 0.05lbf/in, the release layer begins to pull filaments from the fleece. Itis to be understood, however, that the use of an acrylic copolymer isonly exemplary and that any suitable adhesive could be used instead.Examples of such substitutes can include, but not be limited to styreneblock copolymer, silicone, polyisobutylene, vinyl acetate ethylene(VAE), polyurethane or rubber based adhesives. In addition, the adhesiveused could include solvent based, water-borne, hot melt or reactiveadhesives

In other preferred aspects, release layer 46 is a flexible sheet ofmaterial that is rolled up together with the roofing membrane 42 andfleece layer 44 and delivered to the jobsite as a unit. This aspect ofthe present system is illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2E, as follows.

FIG. 2A shows a roll 100 of the present roofing material with releaselayer 46 as delivered into the field for installation on top of abuilding roof. Specifically, roll 100 simply corresponds to roof memberassembly 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 , but is instead delivered wound up ina roll. Next, FIG. 2B shows a portion of roll 100 being unrolled ontothe roof surface. The building roof surface is illustrated as insulationboard 22 covered by hook layer 24 (from FIG. 1 ). As the installersprogress, FIG. 2C then shows roll 100 after it has been fully unrolledonto the roof surface. Next, since release layer 46 is positioned at thebottom of the unrolled roof member assembly 40, the installers have toremove release layer 46 such that fleece layer 44 can be attached tohook layer 24. This may be done as illustrated in FIGS. 2D and 2E wherethe installers fold half of roof member assembly 40 back over on top ofitself, and then remove release layer 46. In this illustrated approach,release layer 46 can actually comprise two separate release layers (46Aand 46B) positioned side-by-side one another (or optionally formed ofthe same sheet of materials but separated by a perforation 47 as shownin FIG. 2E), such that they can be peeled back and removed one by one.After the illustrated side of release layer 46A has been manuallyremoved, fleece layer 44A is then attached to hook layer 24, then roofmember assembly 40 can be flipped over on its opposite side, therebyexposing release layer 46B. Next, the release layer 46B can be manuallyremoved such that fleece layer 44B can then be attached down onto fleecehook layer 24, thereby completing the installation. Optionally,mechanical rollers can be used to apply pressure over the top of roofingmembrane 42, thereby further securing fleece layer 44 to hook layer 24.

FIG. 3 illustrates a release layer 46 having overlapping edges. In thisembodiment, a user lifts and peels back edge 49 to begin pulling releaselayer 46 away from fleece layer 44 (shown below).

In preferred aspects, roofing membrane 42 can be made of EPDM, TPO orPVC. However, the present system is not so limited and other roofingmaterials can be used as well.

In further optional aspects of the present system, an optional adhesivelayer can be applied between fleece layer 44 and hook layer 24 afterrelease layer 46 has been removed.

In its various aspects described above, the present system provides: (1)a release layer that is rolled up with the roofing membrane where therelease layer can be either sticky or not sticky at all; and (2) asticky release layer that may or may not be rolled up together with theroofing membrane prior to delivery at a jobsite.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hook and fleece roofing system, comprising: (a)a roof membrane assembly, comprising: a roofing membrane, a fleece layerattached to the underside of the roofing membrane, and a sticky releasefilm adhesively attached to the underside of the fleece layer, thesticky release film having separate first and second portions positionedside by side; and (b) an insulation assembly, comprising: an insulationboard, and a hook layer attached directly onto the top side of theinsulation board such that the hook layer directly touches and fullycovers a top surface of the insulation board; and wherein the firstportion of the sticky release film is removable such that the fleecelayer is attached to the hook layer thereby anchoring the position ofthe roof membrane assembly onto the insulation assembly prior to removalof the second portion of the release layer, and wherein the stickyrelease film is adhered to the fleece layer such that the sticky releasefilm can be manually pulled off of the fleece layer in the field withoutdamaging the fleece layer, and wherein the sticky release film has apeel adhesion in the range of 0.02 to 0.05 lbf/in.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein between 10% and 100% of the surface area of the stickyrelease film is adhered to the underside of the fleece layer.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the adhesive is applied in a pattern betweenthe sticky release film and the underside of the fleece layer.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the sticky release film is a flexible sheetof material that is rolled up together with the roofing membrane andfleece layer.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the roofing membrane ismade of EPDM, TPO, PVC or other waterproofing materials.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein the sticky release film is a plastic, paper orlaminated film with an adhesive coating.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the sticky release film has a perforation running therealongseparating the first and second portions of the sticky release film forease of removal.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and secondportions of the sticky release film have overlapping end portions forease of removal.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the sticky releasefilm is made out of a plastic film.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinthe adhesive attaching the sticky release film to the underside of thefleece layer is made out of acrylic copolymer.
 11. The system of claim1, wherein the adhesive attaching the sticky release film to theunderside of the fleece layer is made out of styrene block copolymer,silicone, polyisobutylene, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE), polyurethane orrubber based adhesives.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the roofmembrane assembly is rolled up as a unit.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the roof membrane assembly is unrolled onto the insulationassembly after the roof membrane assembly has been positioned on top ofthe insulation assembly.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the stickyrelease film is manually removed by an installer after or during thetime that the roof membrane assembly is unrolled, positioned and adheredto the roof deck or insulation or substrate.